Most modern chemical processing facilities use numerous pressure transducers to determine pressure and flow rate of fluids being conveyed in pipe lines. In addition, such facilities use pressure transducers to determine pressure and level in process vessels.
Safety considerations require that the pressure transducers be installed using materials of construction and of a design which will safely withstand exposure to the material contained in the process pipe or vessel at the temperature and pressure of the material. Safety considerations also may require that the pressure transducers be installed using flush and drain flanges or other means that allow safe venting and flushing of the material before the transducer is disconnected for service or replacement.
When an instrument engineer needs to specify the kit of parts necessary to install a pressure transducer on a pipe line or vessel, the engineer will design and specify any necessary pipe manifold, block valves, flanges and other parts depending on the properties of the material, such as its pressure, temperature, toxicity as well as the tendency of the material for clogging or plugging passageways. In addition, the physical orientation of the pipe (horizontal or vertical) or vessel will be taken into account.
For a modern chemical processing facility, the instrument engineer will repeat this process for the many pressure transducers that will be installed in the facility. When the instrument engineer is finished, a number of parts kits will have been designed and specified which exactly, in theory, meet the needs of each application. However, since each application is custom designed, the overall process is relatively expensive.
It would be an advance in the art of designing and specifying such parts kits if a method could be developed which standardized the process, to at least some degree, and therefore reduced its cost and resulted in a limited number of standardized designs rather than an almost endless variety of custom designs.